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Twig and Stick Style
There are differing thoughts on what the first technology used by mankind was. There are those who claim that the early humans showed themselves to be truly different from their simian cousins the day one of them picked up a rock and beat another to death. There are others who claim that they proved themselves special when they thought to use a simple strap to carry their young on their back, thus freeing their hands for work. A third school of thought claims that it was the twig and the stick that made Man so much more than a hairless ape. The twig worked as an extension of his body, letting him touch and manipulate objects without subjecting himself to risk. The stick let him apply a much greater force to his blows, and, more importantly, fight his foes at a distance. Weapons and armor: The principles of Twig and Stick Style embrace all technological advancement and is thus fully compatible with armor. Any weapon that is solidly grounded in its origin as a stick is a suitable form weapon for this style. In particular this includes the spear, the pole-arm and their artifact equivalents. Branch, Leaf and Tree Kinship Cost: 1m; Mins: Martial Arts 2, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive (Step 2) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None Even after it has been cut from the trunk, the branch remains a part of the tree. Drawing upon this mystic kinship, the martial artist's may perform feats that are usually reserved for the ancient trees of the deep woods. This charm allows the martial artist to use his parry DV from a form weapon against attacks that would usually be considered unblockable. Note that this protection does not extend to unexpected attacks, hiding behind the largest tree in the forest does not protect you from a knife in the back. Alternatively, the Twig and Stick stylist may use this charm to reassert her connection to the weapon that is a part of her like a leaf is a part of a branch. When used this way, Branch, Leaf and Tree Kinship can be used to reflexively ready a form weapon for use. Keeping the Wolf at Bay Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 3, Essence 2 Type: Reflexive (Step 9) Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: None The wise warrior makes sure that his stick is always between him and his foe, thus if the foe advances, he must withdraw to maintain his advantage. This charm encompasses this lesson by letting him respond to an attack by moving directly away up to (Dexterity + Martial Arts) yards. This charm is treated like a counterattack, even though it is not hostile. Twig and Stick Form Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Simple Keywords: Combo-Basic, Form-type Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Branch, Leaf and Tree Kinship, Keeping the Wolf at Bay The most basic use of the stick is to keep your opponent at bay. Once this has been accomplished, the prudent warrior uses this relative calm around him to best build up his advantage. If the user is wielding a form weapon, this charm increases his Parry DV by his Martial Arts score divided by 2 (round up). Furthermore, when he makes a flurry consisting only of a simple charm from Twig and Stick Style and one or more close combat attacks, the action taken to activate the charm does not count toward multiple action penalties. A Raft in the Sea of Blood Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3 Type: Reflexive (Step 5) Keywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms: Twig and Stick Form There are many advantages to having your enemy at more than arm's length. One of these is that you get a split second's warning between him bypassing your defenses and his weapon actually connecting. This charm lets the martial artist use the butt of his weapon to perfectly deflect an incoming blow after it has passed through the barrier provided by its point. This unbalances his weapon in such a way that his next action is delayed by 1 tick. This cannot delay his next action by more than the speed of his previous one. If this cap is reached, he suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to his parry DV until it refreshes and any attacks with his form weapon on this next action suffer a cumulative -1 internal penalty. These effects constitute a unique flaw of invulnerability. Stick Them With the Pointy End Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-Basic Duration: One scene Prerequisite Charms: Twig and Stick Form Once Man had mastered the use of the simple stick, it took them only a short while to first sharpen one end, then harden that end in their primitive fires and at last affix a sharpened stone to it. Remembering the superiority of this advanced stick, the martial artist is all the more deadly. If the martial artist is wielding any wooden object, she may use this charm to count it as a perfect spear (Speed 5, Accuracy +3, Damage +5L/7L, Defense +1, Rate 3, Tags 2, L, R). If the user is wielding a form weapon, it makes the stick strike truer and with greater lethality, giving it +2 accuracy, +1 damage and +1 rate. Note that this does not count as dice added from a charm. Endurance of the Inner Wall Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-Basic Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms: Stick Them With the Pointy End By having an outer palisade surrounding a the inner wall of a house or a holdfast, a stalwart defense may be extended for far longer than would otherwise be possible. This charm has different effects depending on whether or not the martial artist is armored. *If wearing armor; **The the user may distribute (Martial Arts) points between +2B/+2L soak and +1B/+1L hardness, reduce mobility penalty by 1, reduce fatigue rating by 2. *If not wearing armor; **The user gets bashing and lethal soak equal to his (Martial Arts + Essence), but no aggravated soak. This charm may only be activated when Twig and Stick Style is also active. Building the Palisade Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-Basic, stackable Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms: Endurance of the Inner Wall While the hunters of the land armored themselves in the fur of their fallen foes, the foresighted man who had understood the lesson of Twig and Stick used sticks to armor not only himself, but also his loved ones. This charm lets the martial artist confer the DV bonus from Twig and Stick form to a number of other people equal to his (Essence) who must also be within (Dexterity + Martial Arts) yards of him and wielding Twig and Stick style form weapons (though they need not practice the style itself). If the recipient has already assumed Twig and Stick Form, it instead reduces his DV penalty by up to (Martial Arts/2). The latter effect is stackable up to a maximum number of times equal to the martial artist's own (Essence x 2). Furthermore, he may designate one of these people when he activates the charm. For the rest of the scene this character counts as being warded by the Defend Other action so long as he stays within (Dexterity) yards of the martial artist. In mass combat, a character invoking this charm while acting as a special character in a complementary unit armed with form weapons of this style grants a bonus of (Martial Arts)/3 (round up) to the leader of the complementary unit's parry DV, and doubles the unit's DV bonus against called shots. Neither of these effects are stackable. Resting in the Eye of the Hurricane Cost: 5m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-Basic Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms: Endurance of the Inner Wall With strong walls around it, a community may recuperate its losses while the battle still rages. When this charm is active, the martial artist regains one health level of bashing damage every action, or one level of lethal damage every other action. Construction of Destruction Cost: 2m; Mins: Martial Arts 4, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-Basic, stackable Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms: Stick Them With the Pointy End There are few greater mistakes than letting your foe build up his strength, this is doubly true if your foe has learned the Lesson of Twig and Stick. Just as sticks can be used for building palisades, they can be used for building siege towers, catapults and other engines of destruction. Activating this charm gives the martial artist +1 automatic success on all unarmed attack rolls. This charm can only be activated once per action, but the effect is stackable up to a total bonus of the user's (Essence). The Ram That Breaks the Wall Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3 Type: Simple (Speed 3) Keywords: Combo-Basic, shaping, stackable Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms: Construction of Destruction Given a large enough stick and enough patience, even the greatest walls will tumble. This charm enhances the martial artist's form weapon,giving it the piercing tag (or letting it ignore armor all together if it has it already). Furthermore whenever the weapon strikes an opponent, whether it damages him or nor, the price for all his charms and spells increased by one as a shaping effect. This effect is cumulative. Twig Technology Cost: -; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4 Type: Permanent Keywords: - Duration: Permanent Prerequisite Charms: A Raft in the Sea of Blood, Building the Palisade, Resting in the Eye of the Hurricane, The Ram That Breaks the Wall The epitome of twig technology is that it allows for the construction of proper infrastructure. The martial artist who masters the Lesson of Twig and Stick has constructed within himself a mystical infrastructure that lets his Essence flow to where it is most needed and do so elegantly and effectively. This charm improves Twig and Stick Form, making it reduce the mote cost of activating style's scenelong charms by half. Furthermore, any peripheral motes spent to power these charms do not count toward an exalt's anima banner. Category:Exalted